Bloom is the fourth studio album by American dream pop duo Beach House. It was released on May 15, 2012, through Sub Pop in the United States. It was released internationally by Bella Union in Europe, Mistletone Records in Australia, and Arts & Crafts in Mexico. The entire album was arranged and performed by the duo, with Daniel Franz handling live drums and percussion, and lead vocalist Victoria Legrand handling the songwriting on all of the tracks. Alongside the duo, the album was produced by Chris Coady, who worked with them for the second time, following his contributions on their third studio album, Teen Dream (2010), which was widely regarded as their breakthrough album.
In March 2011, Beach House began writing Bloom as their main focus after touring for Teen Dream, with some songs being written years prior and while on tour. They recorded the album twice; they first composed demos at their practice space in Baltimore and they later began recording them in 2011 at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, which took a period of nine weeks to accomplish. While recording, they relied on a 24-track analog tape to record the tracks and avoided the usage of the studio's instruments. They chose to record in Texas after being captivated in the area while resting at El Paso during a tour. Additional vocals were recorded at Magpie Cage in Baltimore and the album's mixing was handled at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, where it was first rumored that the band had completed the album in January 2012.
Musically, Bloom has been described by critics as a dream pop record, seeing the duo leaning away from their initial lo-fi and ambient music style found on their earlier studio albums, continuing to add live drums to their song arrangements and supplementing their drum machine rhythms. Several critics also noted a few shoegaze, indie pop and new wave influences within several tracks on the album, with the duo adding that material within the album has a darker sound than Teen Dream, with personal themes revolving around heartbreak, longing, death and lost love. The album was met with wide appraisal from contemporary music critics upon release, many whom complimented its instrumental arrangements, with some additionally considering it the duo's best album to date. It was named as one of the best albums of 2012 by several publications, including Consequence, Obscure Sound, Pitchfork, PopMatters and Under the Radar.
To promote Bloom, Beach House released its main singles "Myth" and "Lazuli", both which received critical acclaim upon their respective releases. It was also supported with a set of music videos, a supporting summer tour and an international fall tour, the latter being marketed as the Frightened Eyes Tour, and Forever Still, a short film featuring live performances of songs from the album, which was released in 2013. The duo initially rejected a deal to distribute the album at Starbucks stores months before and the album was leaked in February 2012. The album debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200, selling 41,000 copies in its first week, earning the duo their highest-charting album and first top 10 entry on the chart; it also charted within the top 20 in six other countries.
Background
Beach House began writing and recording their third studio album in 2009, which would serve as a follow-up to their second studio album Devotion (2008). In the midst of doing so, they were offered a contract signing with American record label Sub Pop on September of that year, whose cash infusion would allow the duo to work with producer Chris Coady, who would then contribute on production for the album. With this deal, they also announced their third studio album Teen Dream (2010) and its slated release through the label, marking their departure from Carpark Records, where they released their first two studio albums.
Despite Teen Dream being leaked on the internet later in 2009, it saw an official release through Sub Pop on January 26, 2010, becoming their first album release through the label. It was met with critical acclaim upon release. Teen Dream was also a commercial success, selling over 137,000 units by May 2012, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In 2011, guitarist Alex Scally stated that, as soon as Beach House finish touring for Teen Dream, which was considered as their breakthrough album, they were going to wait for the writing procedure of their next album to be inspired. That same year, while touring, they have also had thoughts about working on their fourth studio album, revealing that they have already written a few songs for it.
Writing and recording
Beach House conceptualized some ideas for Bloom while and after recording Teen Dream (2010). In March 2011, like they have done with their previous albums, they began writing Bloom in their hometown, Baltimore. A portion of the writing was done in between various sound checks and "myriad" experiences while on tour for two years. Lead vocalist Victoria Legrand stated that they had at least 30 ideas for Bloom, with only 10 of those going towards the album. "Wild" was written while they were in the mixing process of Teen Dream, being the earliest song written for the album; this track, along with "Other People", were previously performed on different live shows in 2011. The song title for its lead single "Myth" originates from the word "myths" being written on Legrand's notebook, serving as a "beautiful journey of what it takes to make something and to create something, and the vastness of that". That song was written on October 24, 2011, alongside "Troublemaker". While writing "Lazuli", Legrand said that the word "lazuli" seemed to have an insight, and also stated that she had always considered the word to be part of the "Beach House world". "On the Sea" is one of the duo's favorite songs recorded from the album, with Legrand stating that it felt like a "trip" and Scally revealing that it doesn't involve the usage of any drums and was solely based on a recapitulating chord progression.
Other songs were also written years prior, stating that they have continued writing them since then, including the album's hidden track, "Wherever You Go", which was written during the Teen Dream recording sessions and wasn't finished up until the Bloom sessions; the duo stated that they loved the song but thought it was reminiscent of their previous style of music. Another song recorded during these sessions was "Equal Mind", which did not appear on the album and was instead released as the B-side to the physical single release of "Lazuli" after realizing that it had instrumental similarities to "Other People", specifically its tempo; due to this, they stated that it "did not fit" on the album. At first, it was confirmed that the song would "never exist" in a digital format. "Saturn Song", which is built around a piano loop recorded around this time, was another song being worked on during these sessions, which later saw an official release as part of the compilation album The Space Project (2014). These three tracks were later remastered and included on the duo's compilation album B-Sides and Rarities (2017). After writing a quantity of songs for the album, they recorded several demos in their practice space in their hometown. Thereafter, as soon as the duo finished touring in support of Teen Dream, they began recording the album at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, in which Chris Coady again handled production, as well as engineering and mixing, and live drums and percussion were provided by Daniel Franz, who was initially rumored to be the third member of Beach House, being their touring drummer since 2008.
When the duo arrived to Sonic Ranch, they were surprised and pointed out that the studio complex had "almost exactly the same dimensions as Dreamland", where they recorded their previous album Teen Dream (2010). Approaching the recording process through the "all-work-and-no-play" method, the entire album was recorded on a 24-track analog tape, which is a form of "staying true to the art of sound", and the duo brought their own instruments to the recording sessions, avoiding the usage of the studio's provided instruments. Coady also placed several distant microphones in the recording room to record the spacious guitar sounds. The album was recorded within a period of nine weeks, which was three times longer than the recording sessions for Teen Dream. It has also been said that it took seven weeks or two months. They chose to record in Texas after being captivated by the area while staying at a motel in El Paso during a tour. They also stated that they recorded there for "very unglamorous, technical" reasons, explaining that "it's not just about going someplace cool to record just because it’s cool". Additional vocals for Bloom were recorded at Magpie Cage in Baltimore, with mixing also being handled at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, where it was initially rumored in January 2012 that Beach House had worked on the album. Legrand stated that developing Bloom was a "more intense" experience for them.
Musical style Bloom has been described as a dream pop album, with musical influences, which are found throughout separate tracks on the album, being labelled as shoegaze, indie pop and new wave. Like their previous album Teen Dream, Beach House continue to employ the usage of live drums, with its overall music arrangements and structures being "uncomplicated and meticulously" assembled, featuring thrumming synthesizers, luminous and jangly guitar tones, winding pre-programmed tempos, amorphous drones and twinkling melodies. By sticking to this style, the duo leans away from their initial lo-fi and ambient music influences found within their earlier studio albums, now going more towards a "high-grade" pop attempt. Throughout the album, there are newer sounds and instrumental elements that were not included in the duo's previous albums, including an autoharp, synthesizers, pianos and live strings. Michell Eloy of Paste stated that the structural elements of the duo's sound remain the same on this album, yet they are arranged in such way that intensifies the duo's distinct musical style, complimenting its polished production.
Songs within Bloom contains lyrical themes that revolve around death, heartbreak, lost love, revival, longing and the inability of moving on; Lindsay Zoladz of Pitchfork stated that the album features more "straightforward" lyrics, "yet they're somehow suggestive of larger things". Heather Phares of AllMusic also stated that its "shimmering remoteness enhances the album's philosophical, searching approach to love and loss". Such lyrics also leave the album open for listener's interpretation, according to the duo. "So, for the listener, yeah. Feel free to interpret all you want." (appears at 2:02) Scally also discussed about the album's feeling and association of the color blue with an author at Vice, who envisioned their entire catalog with that exact color; Scally attributed this statement to the album's third track, "Lazuli". Each song on the album is at least four minutes long. Some critics also noted the usage of field recordings that are used to seamlessly transition a majority of the songs on the album, including sounds of birds chirping and cars passing by. Stated in an interview with Pitchfork, there are a total of four recordings of such, with Scally revealing that one of them is the sound of a flock of coyotes.